Together At Last
"Hey there!" Lou said when he heard Lil crying, ambling over to the playpen and picking up the little girl. "Why so glum, huh? Not wet… and I think Didi would have mentioned if it were time for a snack… so ya must just be bored, right?" He smiled and set Lil down, who continued to fuss, and got Tommy and Chuckie out of the playpen too and herded them to his chair. "How about I read ya a story?" He set Lil on his lap while Chuckie and Tommy sat down on the ground. "Now then… let's see…" he grabbed a children's story book and began to thumb through it. "Ah, this here is a good one…"
Soon enough Lil stopped crying and enjoyed the story. Yes, she did miss her brother but she managed to have fun all the same. And… it was kind of nice to be on her own. She loved Phil, sure, but after the story her and Tommy and Chuckie played with the toys and Lil got to be the fire truck and she never got the be the fire truck because Phil always got it first… it was fun to have a chance at it herself!
Meanwhile, back at the twins' house, Phil had been getting bored and was ready to find Lil when his mom picked him up. "Come on, Philly… you can help me make lunch!"
That intrigued Phil. His mom had only once tried to have him help with lunch but Lil and him had gotten in a fight and nearly knocked over a pot of water and their mom had said she'd never try that again. But now he could help… and it was a lot of fun! And his mom was focusing only on him for once! So many times people split their attention between him and Lil but this was the first time where his mom just talked to him. He… he liked it.
A few hours later Phil and Lil were reunited and both bounced up and down in excitement to tell the other one about their day. There wasn't any jealousy over one getting to do something the other didn't as both felt like they'd gotten the better deal.
"Got to say, Deed," Betty said, shaking her head as Phil and Lil giggled and played, "maybe separating them every once and a while is a good idea."